The ARPA-E Innovation Summit of 2012 closed to great fanfare this past Wednesday. A number of leading politicians, government officials, philanthropists, venture capitalists, and scientists gathered at the Gaylord Convention Center in the National Harbor, just outside of Washington DC, to see the future energy landscape of the United States and the world. The vision and inspiration provided by the various represented groups paint a bright energy future where environmental concerns and energy demands are not mutually exclusive.